Page 17 of Ten Years and Then…
No, she wouldn’t be telling either of her parents about last night, or about Daniel at all. If she had any say in the matter, the next time Nora mentioned a boy to them would be when it was time to send out wedding invitations. And maybe not even then.
She could call Aunt Rachel. She’d listen. And she’d be thrilled to hear good news about a date from Nora. It was early, not even nine o’clock yet. But this was worth waking Rachel up for.
It took six rings for Rachel to pick up, and her voice was groggy when she greeted Nora. Nora ignored that. “Rachel, I—I had the most amazing night. It was—don’t laugh, please don’t laugh—it was magical. He was so sweet. I’ve never had someone act like that with me.”
“Good morning to you, too, Nora.” Nora could hear the smile in her voice despite the sarcasm.
“I’m sorry. I know I woke you up. But I had to tell you. I mean, I can’t just keep this to myself. I want to go up on the roof and shout about it.”
Now Rachel laughed. “I think I’m getting the idea. How about you start at the beginning?”
So she did. She told Rachel about hearing Daniel without seeing him in Professor Feinberg’s desktop publishing lab, and joking with him still without seeing him in Ellis Hall, and him asking her out, and—almost—every detail of last night and this morning.
“Writing your number on his hand was a nice touch. He won’t forget that.” There was a pause. “I assume you don’t want him to forget. You’re planning on seeing him again?”
“Yes!” She kept her voice barely below a shout. She wasn’t sure how she managed it.
“You deserve somebody great. I’m so happy for you that last night was special.” There was a pause. What was Rachel hesitating about? She’d just said she was happy for her, but she didn’t sound happy. “You sound—I’m sorry, I shouldn’t say it.”
What the heck did that mean? “Rachel, whatever you’re thinking, tell me! You’ve always told me the truth, even if you didn’t think I wanted to hear it.”
But what could be wrong with anything about last night? What problem could Rachel possibly be seeing with it?
“I’m probably wrong, so don’t pay any attention to this. But you sound a lot like your father did when he met Karen. I was little, six or seven, but I remember it clearly, because I’d never seen him that happy before.”
“What? You’re comparing—you’re saying—Dad and Mom?”
Obviously Rachel was wrong. Like she’d just said, she was only a little kid. On the other hand, Nora knew that her father had still been living at home right up until he’d married her mother, so Rachel would have seen him every day of her whole life, and even a little kid can tell when her big brother is happy or sad.
“He said she was magical, that she was the most wonderful girl he’d ever met. He sounded just like you did a minute ago.”
Rachel didn’t need to say anything more; Nora knew the rest of the story. Her mother was pregnant four months later, they’d gotten married two months after that, the fights began shortly after she herself was born, and there wasn’t a week that went by without a screaming match that shook the paper-thin walls, from Nora’s earliest memories to the vicious divorce eleven years later.
That’s what her aunt took away from Nora sharing the best night she could remember ever having? Her room felt darker, colder, as though the sky had suddenly clouded over. Maybe it was just in her head. Or her heart.
Nora must have told it wrong, or left out some important detail so Rachel didn’t understand. Or maybe Rachel was jealous—she was still single, wasn’t she? Never had a serious boyfriend as far as Nora knew. Maybe she’d never had a properly magical night of her own and she couldn’t stand to hear about one from her niece.
Or maybe there was some other reason, but Nora didn’t care to know what it might be. “I’ve got to run, I think I hear my roommate,” she said in a flat, careless tone. “And I’ve got to call my father anyway. I’ll talk to you next week.” And she hung up before Rachel could say anything more.
Daniel, the same time
Daniel walked back to West Hall, to find three of his dorm-mates sitting in the lobby. Fred Phillips, four doors down from him, greeted him with, “I heard someone got lucky last night.”
Jeannette Morgan, sitting across from him on the ratty old sofa, glared at him. “God, what are you, a caveman? And you wonder why you’re always alone and bored on Friday nights.”
Daniel paused. Before yesterday, he’d probably have run up the stairs taking them three at a time, to get away from this conversation. Not today. “You’re half right, Fred.” Fred and Jeannette and Bill Thompson, upstairs from him and two doors over, all stared at him in surprise. “I am lucky. I met somebody amazing, and she acted like she saw me the way I really, really hope I actually am.” It felt good to say it. It felt even better to want to say it. “Oh, and, Jeannette, I guess I owe you thanks for borrowing your iron. She definitely noticed the effort.”
“You sound like a Hallmark card, Keller. I never thought I’d see you go all sappy,” Fred said. Daniel figured he was mostly joking. But Jeannette threw a cushion at him anyway.
“It’s not sappy, it’s acting like an adult, Fred. Maybe you could learn from it.” Then she turned to Daniel. “You’re welcome, by the way. I’m glad it was for a good cause.”
He grinned at her, and headed upstairs. He couldn’t deny that it was good for his ego, but there was a thin line between confidence and arrogance and he didn’t want to cross it. Not now. Not with her. Besides, there was only one person he wanted to talk to right now.
When he unlocked his room, the phone was ringing, and it was just that person on the other end of the line. “Daniel? I hope I’m not interrupting anything. But I’m sure you have enough sense not to answer the phone if there was anything to interrupt. Please tell me I’m right.”
“Good morning to you, too, Bee.” He laughed. “I actually just this second came back from walking her home.”
He heard the sound of clapping on the line. “Very gallant! I’m impressed. My little Daniel, all grown up and acting like a gentleman, who would ever have thought?”
